Suffering with a chronic disease like endometriosis is no fun. The pain, fatigue and heavy periods can hijack your life to the point where it feels like you don’t have much of one at all. But don’t lose hope. There are some ways you can relieve endometriosis symptoms that your doctor may not have told you about. One of these is dietary changes to minimise the inflammation and excess oestrogen known to fuel the disease.
Three food “groups” in particular are known to trigger endo symptoms, but it’s worth noting that we all react differently to ingredients and some experimentation will be necessary to work out which foods are causing your endometriosis to flare up.
High histamine foods
Histamine is a biological compound that is produced by your mast cells as a normal part of your immune system’s response to something the body is allergic to. As endometrial tissue and lesions are rich in dysfunctional mast cells (with immune dysfunction generally underpinning the disease), women with endo are much more likely to be affected by high histamine levels. This is then compounded by histamine’s stimulating effect on oestrogen (which feeds endometriosis lesions), and oestrogen’s ability to trigger mast cells to release more histamine. Oestrogen also regulates the DAO enzyme you need to break down excess histamine.
When this cycle continues to perpetuate itself in the body, endo symptoms such as pain (including headaches), chronic fatigue, brain fog, insomnia, anxiety and even clenching your teeth at night can start to become much more intense. This is particularly true at times of your cycle when oestrogen is naturally higher (i.e., pre-ovulation and pre-period).
There are many ways to reduce your histamine levels to get symptom relief, and diet is one of them. By limiting “high histamine foods”, or foods that liberate histamine in the body, you can get effective symptom relief in a matter of weeks.
Some of these foods include:
- Fermented foods such as any type of vinegar, coconut aminos, anything pickled, kefir, miso, sauerkraut, kombucha, soy sauce/tamari, bone broth and kimchi
- Alcohol
- Vegetables such as spinach, mushrooms and eggplant
- Fruits including all dried fruit, avocado and banana
- Peanuts
- Shellfish
- Smoked and processed meats
- Dairy products like yoghurts and aged cheeses
- Yeast, which is often found in most baked goods (like bread)
- Chocolate
- Spices such as chilli, cayenne pepper, paprika, sumac and curry powder
Histamine levels in foods will also always increase:
- With browning & grilling foods (like meats)
- In leftovers (like the ones you leave in the fridge)
- By over-cooking foods
- In overly ripe, soft fruits
The only real way to find out if your endometriosis symptoms are being driven by high histamine foods is to cut them out altogether for eight weeks and then slowly reintroduce them so you can observe if your symptoms are being triggered (or not) by any food on this list.
Dairy foods
Going dairy free can radically reduce endometriosis symptoms such as heavy periods, pain, fatigue, anxiety, gastrointestinal disturbances (like IBS) and even mood changes like those associated with PMS. Why? Because:
– Dairy milk’s sugar, lactose, can trigger endometriosis-related IBS symptoms in those that are intolerant to it.
– Milk’s A1 casein protein can trigger symptoms by stimulating the mast cell release of histamine and other inflammatory molecules into the body. This is especially true for the milk produced by Australian cows, and this should be avoided as much as possible by those with endometriosis.
If the thought of cutting out all dairy foods is too overwhelming, you can reduce your endometriosis symptoms by substituting all cow’s milk products (such as milk, yoghurts, cheeses, creams and butter) with those derived from sheep milk, goat milk and buffalo milk instead (and ghee is a safe substitute for butter).
If you have an issue with lactose, however, these dairy substitutes will not suit you as (for the most part) they contain similar levels of lactose to that of cow’s milk. Instead, you may like to consider vegan milk dairy substitutes that are derived from oat, rice and various nut milks.
Gluten
Gluten is the protein molecule found in wheat and wheat-derived grains that gives baked goods like bread their wonderful chewy texture. Glutinous foods include breads, pastas, cereals and baked goods that derive from:
– Wheat
– Spelt
– Kamut
– Semolina
– Farro
– Rye
– Barley
– Triticale
– Malt
– Brewer’s Yeast
The issue with gluten for women with endometriosis is that it creates gut permeability (a.k.a., a “leaky gut”). When this occurs, inflammatory molecules are produced and released into your system and may worsen your endo symptoms. Gluten can also reduce the DAO enzyme in your gut that is needed to break down histamine in foods (as mentioned above). Additionally, many Australian, commercially grown wheat crops (i.e., the non-organic ones) are sprayed with the pesticide glyphosate which, in research, has been heavily linked to the development of endometriosis.
So, does this mean no more toast or pasta? Not at all. It just means if you do have endo, you are much better off sticking to gluten-free, organic alternatives that derive from rice, buckwheat, quinoa, millet or amaranth.
If you have endometriosis and you’re trying to eliminate foods for symptom relief, the most important thing to remember is to go slow, relax, and listen to your body to see what foods work for you and which don’t. Endo-sufferers experience a different combination of symptoms, which means there is no one diet for everyone.
Alexandra Middleton is an experienced naturopathic nutritionist with over 10 years’ experience in helping women optimise their hormones, fertility and reproductive health. Her special mission is to help women with endometriosis get their quality of life back through the combined power of natural, environmental and conventional medicine.
